#218 The Biggest Website Design and Conversion Mistakes Jewelry Designers Make and How to Fix Them with Erin Alexander
Have you ever noticed that grocery store layouts are all pretty much the same?
The bakery is near the front, where you’re met with the comforting aroma of fresh bread. The dairy is in the back, so you have to walk through the whole store just to buy milk. The candy is by the register, a tempting and effective upsell.
This is not by accident – in fact, there are professionals who get paid a lot of money to map your journey through the store in a way that gets you to buy more stuff.
The psychology of profit has been of interest to owners of grocery stores and supermarkets since, like, forever. So why wouldn’t we apply the same principles to online stores?
That’s where Erin Alexander comes in. Founder of Alexander Design Co. and our very own SOS coach, Erin specializes in website and conversion design for e-commerce businesses.
When it comes to web design, this gal’s been thinking 10 steps ahead the whole time. She sat down with me to discuss the common mistakes she sees on jewelry designer’s websites – and how to fix them
Design the Customer Journey
When someone first lands on your website, think of it as if they’re walking into the front door of your store. What’s the first thing you want them to see? Where do you want them to go next?
Every part of your website should lead your customer to the purchase. Navigation should be simple and effortless, and every page should have clear calls to action.
Don’t let them leave empty-handed. Your goal is to either get them on your list or get them to buy from you.
If there’s no clear path for your customer and they don’t know where to go, they’re not going anywhere… except maybe back to Google.
Put the Gold Above the Fold
As soon as someone lands on your homepage, they should have everything they need without even scrolling.
The space above the fold is the most precious real-estate on your site. Use it wisely.
Erin says a lot of designers try to overcrowd this space, and it leaves visitors feeling overwhelmed and confused.
Save it for the essentials – Logo, Links to the shopping page, about page, and contact form, and some effective images of your product with a distinct call to action.
For more details on exactly how to craft the perfect above the fold layout, listen to the full episode.
Harness the Power of SEO
Websites are largely visuals tools, which leads some designers to totally neglect the words on their websites. But the text on your website is what gets you in the Google search results.
Erin sees so many designers who don’t even put the word “jewelry” on their site.
Your product listings and names are especially important for SEO. It’s great to be creative with your names, so keep doin’ your thing, but don’t forget to describe the product, too.
For instance, “The Esmeralda Ring” is cute, but it’s not what people are searching for. “The Esmeralda: Princess Cut Emerald Ring in Yellow Gold” is more effective for SEO, and doesn’t detract from the creativity.
Erin dropped so many fantastic tips, I haven’t even skimmed the surface here. So go listen to the full episode!
Until next week, m’dear!
xo, Tracy
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